Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a very nice space opera, well written and flows nicely. Could not quite figure out if this takes place in a large single solar system or something much larger. No matter. Still a good read.

The only problem I have with this book is trying to decide which storyline and character I like the best because I like them all.

The Citadel is the 3rd book in the Palladium War series. It is set several years after a major war between the planets, but someone or some group apparently doesn't want it to end. Well, maybe. I'm honestly not sure what their motive is for all the death and destruction. The characters haven't figured it out and that adds to the mystery of it all. Like the other books in the series, the story focuses on 4 character's point of view who each have their own distinct storyline. Occasionally, the stories intersect with another's character's plot, but for the most part they don't.

I'm not actually sure how many books to expect in the series. I feel like we've only begun scratching the surface. We're definitely not at the beginning of the story and I don't see it wrapping up any time soon. This suits me fine since I'm enjoying the ride it is taking me on.

Dunstan's is my favorite storyline. The space battles always win me over and I love the cat and mouse games he gets to play. Plus, he gets a new toy in this book, which makes his story even more fun.

Kloos manages to continue to raise the stakes in this next entry of The Palladium Wars. The characters remain vibrant, relatable and grow and change throughout the book. There are real stakes and complicated choices faced by all characters, as well as a cliffhanger at the end that has me eagerly awaiting the next book.

Loved this book! Marko Kloos is a fantastic story teller. I can't wait for the next book in this series. I rarely wish that books were longer, but I do in this series as I enjoy the characters, setting and plot so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and to 47North for this ARC.

When I got this galley, I rushed through the previous two books in the series (Aftershocks, and Ballistic) so I could get to it; so, I did that rare thing, reading all of the books in a series back-to-back. I highly recommend this, because it was wonderful to be immersed in this built world, and to get cosy with some very well-developed characters.

Although the middle book, Ballistic, was my favourite book in the series, Citadel was very satisfying, with almost all of the loose ends tied up (Q: did he really die? Although I guess he did). In fact, my only real complaint is that Citadel was less about the characters, and more about action and military hardware. I normally don’t mind this so much, but it was hard to maintain my concentration in some parts. (Reading the acknowledgements, this book was written in Plague Year, and the writer reports that he struggled.) My other small niggle is the seemingly borrowed storyline — from a real-world event — which made me want to skip over that particular section of the book (–you’ll know when you read it).

Still, this is high-concept, very well-written military SF, my favourite kind of book; and the whole series is a treat. What amazing world-building! I would recommend reading all of the books: they don’t work as standalone novels, I don’t think, as character arcs and story run through all 3 books.

Highly recommend the series (9/10); rating Citadel 6/10, mainly for the hardware.

This book really built on the first two in the series and blew me away. I really enjoyed the first two and the endings of those books made me eagerly anticipate the next - but this one took things up a level and I can’t wait for the next in the series. I love the characters in the series and how they continued to develop and get even more depth in this book. And the action sequences were really, really good, as intense and believable as anything else I’ve read.

I became a fan of Mr Kloos a few years ago when I discovered the Frontlines series and blitzed all the books then available. As incredible as those books were, I think I like the Palladium series, and Citadel in particular, better. I’m a huge fan of The Expanse books (and show), and this book is as good as those, if not even better.

Though I got my copy for free through NetGalley, after finishing it this morning I’m planning to also buy a copy. That’s how much I loved it.

I remember hearing in an interview with Mr Kloos that the titles of the Palladium books will be alphabetical, with A, B and now C so far - I can only hope he gets all the way through to Z.

This third entry in the series is a continuation of the events started in the first two, and as such, could not really be considered a stand-alone story. However, the characters really come to life, and Kloos manages to convey a unique personality to each of them.

Thank you Marko and Net Galley!

I really like Kloos' stuff, I really do. He's one of the best milSF writers I know and his work has the authenticity that others would find it hard to follow.

However. Similar with the seemingly never-ending Frontline series, I felt his story could be more effective if it's shorter. Spending one whole book just for a setup - like this one - is not very entertaining for me as a reader. Still a solid read - Idina's chapters were absolute fave of mine - yet the prolonged feel is there.

I've no idea how many books left in the series but I hope it's not too many.

First and foremost, I am a huge fan of Marko Kloos and his books. I've been following him and his Frontlines' series and now the Palladium Wars series. I love his writing style and feel that he gives just enough detail for world-building and character development without making it overly heavy or a long read.

I liked but didn't necessarily love the first 2 books of the Palladium Wars series. They were definitely interesting and I loved the premise, but something felt a bit lacking to me. It wasn't until I read Citadel that I finally figure out what that was. To me, the separate characters and chapters from their points of view were leaving something to desire. While they were all tied together in one sense or another, some of the links between the characters were fairly faint and flimsy. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a point of view that didn't really add much to the overall story or plotline. However, in Citadel, finally the storylines and characters started to converge. There was a lot more interaction between the characters and their individual stories throughout the book. This tied everything together nicely for me and filling in that piece that I feel was missing from the first 2 books.

When I started reading this series, I believe it was expected to be a 3 book trilogy. It is obvious after Citadel, that this is no longer the case. While I don't mind this necessarily, I do feel it would be best to wrap the storylines up in book 4. I am not sure if this is a story that can live and grow like the Frontlines series. However, that being said, I truly enjoy the story, the characters, and everything about Citadel. A very engaging read with a lot to interest various readers even outside of the sci-fi realm.

Hidden enemies, hidden friends, another fantastic read by Kloos

In Citadel, the third novel in The Palladium Wars series, Marko Kloos has written another stunningly believable and relevant science fiction novel.. Someone’s trying to start a war and they’re killing people on both sides and the bodies are piling up. The story and mystery keep get deeper and strangely more real. If you’ve been reading The Palladium Wars, welcome back to the gritty and yet strangely familiar future. And if you haven’t read the other books in the series, grab Aftershocks and start there. I paused re-read the first two in the series before reading Citadel, and I was glad for that immersive refresher.

In Citadel, Aden, Solveig, Idina, and Dunstan wend their way through stories that will tug at your heart and your memory. What engenders such hate? Why does it seem that there are Gretians willing to kill other Gretians to start a war? Citadel seems even more real than Aftershocks and Ballistic, if possible. It feels as if Kloos has lived another life that he is sharing with us through the eyes of his protagonists. There’s no way to describe it, you have to experience it for yourselves.

While I’m late to the game, discovering Kloos about two years ago, I’ve devoured everything that Kloos has written, from the Frontlines series, The Palladium Wars series so far, and even a certain treatise regarding shifters. The Palladium Wars (and Frontlines) are some of the best science fiction books that I’ve ever read. Citadel is a great follow-up to Aftershocks and Ballistic. It’s a complex, engrossing read that has me really wanting the next book already. Highly recommend any book written by Kloos for those who love military stories, science fiction, intricate world-building, complex characters, and great storytelling.

I received this book as a digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) from the publisher through NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Citadel is the third book in the ongoing Palladium Wars series following the flare up of some nationalists trying to fight against the occupancy of their planet following the war. Gretia lost and the rest of the universe is trying to make sure they never have that much power again. The rebels are making that really hard though and just sent a nuke to one planet to let the universe know they are not as defeated as previously thought.

This is a fast paced series, a lot happens in really short periods of time and with the swapping four PoV style writing, we get a good sense of what is going on from various angles. This keeps everything feeling pretty intense and sometimes we get to see a specific scene from more than one PoV since a few times characters overlapped a little.

Dunstan is in the Rhodian navy. His planet just endured the nuclear strike and tensions are high. After fighting a ship far above his weight class and living to tell the tale he has been given a new ship with amazing capabilities, that can never fall into enemy hands. It's time to go hunting for the ship that got through his planets defenses to fire the Nuke.

Aiden, a Gretia soldier and former prisoner, is on a smugglers crew, who are in a lot of hot water. After learning what their cargo was in the last book they decided to turn it in instead of making the delivery. The people who hired them are not happy and have set some pretty high demands for recompense. The crew has to decide how they are going to get out of this mess with their lives if possible.

Solvieg is Aiden's sister. Her father was ousted from his position in a major company after losing the war. Solvieg is just out of university and set up as an executive. In her father's eyes, she is a pawn and his way to still have a foot in the company. She has ideas of her own and wants to branch out as her own person instead of being under his thumb. She also has noticed that her father might not be as removed as she once thought he was.

Idina, our final PoV, is a soldier stationed on Gretia. She had been working with other Gretia cops to try and build relationships and trust between the two peoples. After the nuke those were closed down and she is on glorified babysitting duty to dignitaries. She is looking for Oden's wolves, the rebels on the ground but she is tied up trying to get officials to listen to her. She ends up in the middle of multiple conflicts and gives a good view of the shock warfare on the ground.

Kloos does a great job of building tension and leaves a lot of chapters at really tense moments. This was a really fast read for me. I'm not sure how many books are planned for the series but it seems like the war is just getting going and starting to pick up steam. This ended with some significant developments that will definitely impact all of our characters.

Ahoy there me mateys!  This series is hopping.  This be book three (and me favorite so far!) and it's a fun fast popcorn romp where I couldn't guess what was going to happen next.  It is the strange sort of read because ye follow four POVs and I would be riveted to one person to be sad to have to switch to a new one and then be riveted all over again.  The people ye follow remain from the previous books:

Aden - a POW from the losing side of the battle who is released five years after defeat to start anew;

Idina - a soldier from the winning side who holds a grudge, she is part of the occupying military force on the defeated planet;

Dunstan - a member of the winning naval space fleet whose simple guard duty turns into a mess with epic ramifications; and

Solvieg - a civilian who was a minor during the war now has to deal with the consequences of her planet's loss and what it means for the family business.

I can't get into the plot because I don't want to spoil it.  Suffice to say that there were plot twists I was NOT expecting.  Again these books end on rather abrupt notes that still set up what's to come.  Some readers might not enjoy that type of ending.  Just like with the first two books, I ended this with a "Dang it!  I want more!"  I will avidly be waiting for the next installment and will pick it up as soon as it is released.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you 47 North!

Citadel is the third book in Marko Kloos' space opera series, The Palladium Wars, which started with "Aftershocks" (Reviewed Here) and continued with last year's Ballistic (Reviewed Here). I really love Kloos' prose/writing style, which flows really well and makes his books incredibly easy for me to read - even though his main series, Frontlines, is military science fiction, a genre I don't particularly care for usually. The Frontlines series is now through 7 books, and I've really enjoyed most of them, but this second series, through 2 prior books, has been honestly frustrating. The characters and action sequences are good, but not enough happens in each volume, with certain obvious or important reveals being slow-played to the point of frustration. If it wasn't for my enjoying of Kloos' writing, I'd probably have dropped this series, so I was hoping book 3 would improve matters.

Book 3, Citadel, does not improve matters much. The series still focuses upon the same four characters, all of whom now react to some major events that concluded the last book, and while things do happen for all four of them, the book is still playing its reveals and secrets way too tightly to its chest. The result feels like episode 3 of a TV Show, which can leave you interested but wanting more, rather than the third volume of a book series, which is supposed to end in a way that is satisfying and completes some plot arcs, rather than just leaves you hanging. This series isn't expensive to obtain - if you have Kindle Unlimited you can get it for free as it's part of Amazon's 47North imprint - so there's a good chance that I'll keep trying book 4, but it's hard to recommend for the investment given how slow things go and how little there is here three books in.

Spoilers for book 1-2 are inevitable below:

----------------------------------------------------Plot Summary---------------------------------------------------
5 Years after the Gretian war ended, the Gaia Solar System was supposed to be moving on.....but now that a nuclear strike has somehow been made by terrorists on civilians on Rhodia, the System is the center of renewed conflict....if only it could be clear who was responsible.

On Gretia, Pallas Colour Sergeant Idina has been reassigned to what is essentially baby sitting duty for bureaucrats and diplomats who don't understand the situation, as the Alliance occupation forces begin a new blockade of Gretia, seemingly ruining all their prior work of cooperation. And Idina soon finds she'll need to use her head to protect those bureaucrats from themselves, when the enemy strikes in a way to take maximum PR advantage of their new oppressive tactics.

Corporate heiress Solveig Ragnar also returns to Gretia and tries to resume her life by taking back some control from her controlling father, only to find him more pliable than he should be....and to find herself caught in the cross-fire between terrorists and the Alliance Forces.

Off Gretia, newly promoted Commander Dunstan Park of the Rhodian Navy finds himself desperate to hunt down the perpetrators for the strike on his home, and gets his chance when he finds himself assigned to a state of the art ship with AI, stealth and computing capabilities that could change everything about conflict forever.

Meanwhile Blackguard Aden and his crewmates find themselves hunted by the people who attempted to use them to transport a different nuclear weapon, and when their mysterious enemy strikes home, Aden and his crew decide their only option is to take the fight to the enemy, even if that means calling in the help of Dunstan and the Rhodian Navy....
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The most common way multi POV epic scifi/fantasy novels work is that there are a few point of view characters we start with, and that as the series moves on, we add more and subtract others, such that our story expands with new and revisited cast members. The Palladium Wars is not like that: we started with four point of view characters - Idina, Aden, Dunstan, and Solveig - who the story rotates through like clockwork (Aden -> Idina -> Dunstan -> Solveig) and we have stuck with them for now 3 books, such that this feels almost more like the telling of four individual stories than one big epic story at times. This isn't helped by the fact that the four characters rarely cross paths - Aden and Dunstan crossed paths last book and in this one, and Idinia and Solveig wind up nearby each other, even if they never interact directly, but in large part their stories are four separate ones.


And this is what makes this book feel slow, without too much happening. Dunstan and Aden's plots intersect, with Dunstan becoming Commander of an experimental vessel with enough tech to upset the balance of power and Aden's crew becoming bent on vengeance after one of they are attacked by the nuclear weapon traffickers who they backed out on last book - both wind up on a single mission to capture the ones responsible for the nuke, in what turns out to be a really fun confrontation taking advantage of both their ships' skills....but it's still just one mission for an entire book. Idina at least has TWO major events occur in her plotline, while Solveig only has one major event....and even there, she's just sort of a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time*, rather than actually doing anything. This book's splitting of the narrative into four without being a particularly long volume, like its predecessors, means that there really isn't that much time for things to happen in any of those narratives, which is just frustrating.

*Well.....maybe

Nowhere is that more evident than in Solveig's story, which for three whole books now has felt basically pointless, like it could be replaced without losing anything else from the novels. Solveig never actually does anything that affects the major series-wide plot, other than occasionally wind up nearby and finally in this book, in one of the major battle confrontations....but again that's not due to her own doing as much as just bad luck (maybe). Her plotline has for three books essentially served to hint that her and Aden's father is involved with the mysterious antagonist faction, but still, even after this book, we haven't had her stumble onto this truth and it's just beyond agonizing to read. I'm fine with having a non proactive main POV character if that character's plot development is interesting, or if they give us a window into an interesting part of the world we won't see otherwise, but she doesn't provide either (she just feels like a naive good hearted privileged girl who knows how privileged she is, but can do little about it) and so I just wish she was replaced by someone else.

And that again is the issue with this series - we're three books in, and we still don't know what the deal is with the antagonists, even if the ending of this book promises we'll finally get some answers next book. This book features the antagonists getting some names: the force on Gretia becomes known as "Odin's Wolves" and the force in space as "Odin's Ravens", but hilariously, these names just come up in conversation as like something that's obviously known now out of nowhere, as if the groups made some sort of statement off page that was never revealed to the reader.

Like, I want to enjoy this series - Kloos' writing is easy to read and makes the book move quickly, Aden, Idina, and Dunstan are really fun and solid main characters (although the side characters among them are very forgettable) and Kloos writes some really great action scenes. But we're 3 books in, and we're still in what seems like the third episode of a twelve episode tv series, and that's just not good enough in a book series.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher 47North for an advanced copy of this new science fiction novel.

Makro Kloos, author of the book Citadel, book three in The Palladium Wars series, is fast accelerating to one of those authors I am looking forward to most. Mr. Kloos writes space opera, which I used to love in the day when I was watching Star Wars on VHS, and buying my comics in the pharmacy, but got away from as I could stream movies and download my comics. Mr. Kloos has brought me back to that genre, and I have truly enjoyed the three books in this series, and this one has a lot happening.

Mr. Kloos as a writing style that keeps things moving, and keeps the reader interested in that just-one-chapter-before-bedtime, before giving up, making coffee and finishing the book in one sitting. Four characters share narrative duties, and this one more than others have them starting to mix together more, as the plot advances. The characters are standard for the genre, war veteran with a secret both military and family, a Navy commander with a new command, and a grudge, a peacekeeper on a hostile world trying to keep herself and her people alive, and a civilian who is learning more more about the conspiracy that is tearing the galaxy apart. The worlds and the science are interesting as as the plot, war is coming, mostly as a dangerous insurgency, with powerful backers. Hopefully for Mr. Kloos' sake a Netflix contract is in his future.

What I found most interesting was the afterward, where the author discussed writing this book under the threat of Covid, and political uncertainty in these United States. I had noticed where the first books seemed, not lighter, but more written to entertain, this book while just as entertaining had a heaviness to the story. Maybe I am reading more into it, or maybe at book three Mr. Kloos just decided to advance his conspiracy mor, but characters seem a little more lost, a little more scared, and a little more confused and sad about events, than in previous books. The plot does go darker, and more people pay the pice, and again, I could be reading into it, but it was noticeable, and I thought added more of a cost to the book. Bad things happen to people, just showing up to work, or just being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

A very good series, that I look forward to the other books in. Definitely for fans of the old Baen Books publisher before the books all started to look the same. There is a lot of energy and excitement here, and like I said can't wait to read more.

4.5 Stars Rounded Up

I loved this novel and could barely put it down once I started it. There was never a dull moment and I found if I blinked too fast I missed key moments.

The novel is told from four main characters whose lives rarely interact. However, they’re still connected as they’re all fighting the same battle.

Aden and his friends/crew find themselves being hunted after the events of the last novel. After a tragedy (which I did not see coming) they decide to go on the offensive. These portions of the novel were sad, I actually shed a few tears. But I loved the final resolution as I found it was the perfect ending. He was my second favorite character and I enjoyed these portion of the novels the most as I found the character development and action the best.

Solveig is trying to run one of the most powerful Gretian corporations while maintaining a personal life and trying to develop a romantic one. Her POV allowed the reader to see what life was like under a more strict lockdown with more stops, checks and military abuse. However, I also found her parts the slowest as I didn’t really care about the day-go-day paperwork and meetings required to run a corporation. The ending helped elevate her portions as the action and suspense was intense. The conclusion and cliffhanger annoyed me a bit though, no other character had such an annoying cliffhanger.

Dunstan gets a new ship and is tasked with hunting down the rebels. He agrees to allow Aden to help out. I loved Dunstan adjusting to life on a new, cramped, ship. There was a lot of technical speech so these portions were a bit slower. But I loved the conclusion to the battle, never read a science fiction novel where a battle was so easily won.

Idina is tasked with babysitting duty and gets caught up in numerous battles. She is by far my favorite characters and I got excited every time a chapter was told from her POV. She is strong, smart, determined and brave.

Normally I don’t read the acknowledgements at the end of novels but I did this time. I’m glad I did as Kloos talks about his difficulties writing while dealing with COVID and the American election. I found it highlight the difficulties authors/artists may have finding creative inspiration and maybe readers should be patient if book releases are delayed (I’ve read some hateful comments online from readers who’ve sworn off series’s due to delayed releases).

Overall a great science fiction/space opera/military fiction that I would strongly recommend to fans. I plan to continue the series and am hoping to get book. 4 as an ARC so my wait time is delayed.

Thank you to NetGalley and 47North for the ARC.

I have read all of Mr. Kloo’s books and as long as they continue to be as good as this one is I will continue buying them the first day they hit the (digital) Shelf!!

Before reading this book I went back and read the first two books in the series and this one was just as terrific as the first two. The story picked up seamlessly from the ending of the second book. There are four subplots in the books revolving around the four main characters “arc’s”. Each subplot is integral to the plot development of the book. The ending of the book leaves you saying “ahh crap” because you know it will be a year or more before we find out how out hero is going to get out of his latest situation.

Marko Kloos continues to get better with each book he publishes. This is the third book in the Palladium wars saga and the story line continues to twist around multiple characters and view points with excellent plot, story and character development. His world building in this series is excellent as he folds multiple view points of a developing system wide war that follows what was thought to be the end of the war. Hidden agendas and terrorism build together in this excellent series. Can't wait for the next one! Highly recommended.

Another great Space Opera continuation from Marko Kloos. The intertwined narrative of our four protagonists continues to immerse you in a great world. It’s going to a tough wait for the fourth installment, but if it keeps the same quality as the previous three - it will be well worth the wait.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me a copy in exchange for a review. Like others who have reviewed, I have waited an anxious year for this book and have now devoured it in a single sitting. Citadel takes off where the previous book ended and follows the continuing stories of four protagonists, largely in space or on the occupied world Gretia. Despite being the very middle of a five-book arc, it advances the plot, reveals some secrets, and is full of action. I have preferred the Dunstan, Aden, and Indian threads but the Solveig thread is growing in importance and interest. I think this is more mature world-building than other Kloos books and I certainly think his writing steadily improves in terms of fluidity, word choice, and characterization. Kloos does a fine job of making his world feel lived in and real, which is critical in SF. I will buy a physical copy on release and eagerly await book four.

I have recently completed my read of Marko Kloos' "Citadel," published by 47 North (who graciously provided me with an ARC for purposes of review). Many of you will be aware of the author's prominence in the area of military science fiction, and while I have only a passing familiarity with his canon overall, I am pleased to report that if this text is typical of his work, perhaps I need to take a closer look at his preceding work. "Citadel" is what is often characterized as a "space opera" by some; the plot is propelled by military events in the many character's recent past as well as the future (by the look of things). One of the more interesting features of the text is its narrative structure. It is told from multiple points of view which eventually converge (more or less) in the readers mind. The good news is that he actually pulls this off. As many of you may know, this trick is more easily described than successfully pulled off. The characters are well drawn, and I as I pointed out, the convergence or "awakening" on the reader's part to their relationships to each other works well to propel the story. Action is interesting, and as is common in this type of text, the technology is fascinating and (a bonus) relatable to present concerns in military technology. While it takes a few minutes to get into, it works and works well. It is well worth the investment of your time.